Ranger's Apprentice A Treacherous Path
by KreePah100
Summary: When a series of unusual kidnappings occur, especially with rangers being the targets, Will and his apprentice ranger Maddie are sent to learn more about the mysterious dissappearances. But what they uncover is something surprising. Will they be able to defeat the coming darkness? DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN RANGER'S APPRENTICE
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A shiny axe head whistled through the air, like a knife cutting through butter. _WHACK! _

"When you're done with chopping the wood, you can fill the water barrel too." A voice said gruffly and walked away.

Maddie sighed and wiped the sweat from her eyes, _when is this going to end? _ She thought. _The Ranger's Gathering is in three days and we're never going to get there in time if this keeps going!_ Maddie though, had learned not to ask a lot of questions and guessed that Will had something special in mind. She lifted the heavy axe once more and swung it above her head. _WHACK!_

Maddie forced herself to walk once more over to the cottage. She dropped tiredly on the porch steps. She had split thirteen more logs and piled them up nicely beside the little cottage. After that, Maddie made exactly thirty-two trips to the river and filled the water barrel all the way up to the rim. She still had to practice with her bow, but right now, all she wanted was rest. She had worried over the past few days about the gathering. If they didn't leave now, they would miss it for sure. But for some reason, Will was never around long enough for her to ask the question, not that he ever listened to any of her questions. Suddenly, the door swung open. "Get packing," Will said, holding a small sack, "We need to get moving!" Will quickly walked over to the horses and tied the bundle he was holding to Tug. Then, he ran back inside, almost crashing into Maddie as he dashed by. Maddie sensed a level of emergency and decided that this was not the time to ask questions. Immediately, she started to pack some of her belongings. However, when she heard Will coming over, she couldn't help but ask.

"Will?" She asked, hoping that he would answer, "Where are we going in such a hurry?" Will paused, and for a moment, said nothing. Then, he replied,

"Uh, nowhere," He said uncertainly, not meeting her eyes, "You don't need to rush, just be at the stable in ten minutes." Maddie watched as Will ran back to where the kitchen was, muttering something under his breath. She tried to hear what he was saying, but could only make out "…anger's Gathering." Maddie frowned, and wondered what those strange words meant. Will was running back to Maddie and stopped to get her packing. "Come on! We don't have all day!" Will urged. As Will started to turn away, Maddie grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute, is this about the Gathering?" She asked, and Maddie smiled triumphantly as Will's cheeks flushed bright red and he looked at the floor embarrassed. She pressed on, "You forgot didn't you? You forgot about the Ranger's Gathering!" Suddenly Maddie grinned, "Oh, I'm sure the other apprentices will _love _listening to this story!" Suddenly, Will shot his hand out and grabbed her wrist.

"You wouldn't dare!" Will said threateningly, but Maddie was used to him talking to her this way and ignored him.

"Why, of course I wouldn't!" Maddie said in mock terror, "The other one was funny, but this one is just ridiculous! No one would like hearing this one!"

Will started to say something particularly nasty and then stopped himself. He decided that this particular argument would continue later, but for now... He sighed heavily and muttered, "Let's get going before we argue again."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Are we there yet?" Will heaved a sigh. "It's barely been five minutes since you last asked. Of _course_ not!" Maddie sensed that this was not the time to pester him with questions. Instead, she looked at the bleak, barren landscape. Maddie knew that the Gathering was near the sea, but why near _this_? She looked around again and spotted a lone tree, some rocks, and a pitiful patch of dying grass. She sighed inwardly. She hoped _something_ would change in the background soon. Suddenly, an arrow flew out of nowhere and flashed past Maddie's head. If Bumper hadn't shifted slightly, it would've buried itself into her head. She jerked backwards and shrieked, almost tumbling off her horse. Will turned in time to grab her hand and stop her fall. Another arrow shot past, just where Will was moments ago. Will jumped off Tug and spotted a purple-cloaked figure hidden in the grass. Unconsciously, he let two arrows fly before he even knew that he was firing. Then, another arrow came from the left. He just barely managed to dodge it before the first figure jumped up and started to run away, then suddenly dropping to the ground with an arrow stuck on his back. Will smiled. _Good job Maddie!_ He thought, and turned back toward the second person. He was holding a crossbow, loaded and ready to shoot at the first person to move. Then, without any warning, Maddie started to jump up and down, waving her arms at the purple-cloaked man. Immediately, his attention shifted to the dancing ranger, only to find himself staggering backwards against the weight of an invisible force. The last thing he saw as he was falling down was a gray shafted arrow coming out of his heart.

As soon as the last attacker went down, Will started. "Come _on_!" Will shouted, half dragging, half pulling Maddie along. "There could be more of them hiding around here!" He climbed onto Tug and urged him on, with Maddie right behind him. "Who...Who were those people?" She asked, breathless from the riding. Will answered grimly:"They were Genovesians, trained assassins who hunt people for money."

"You mean...You mean they were being _paid_ to kill us_?_"

"What do you _think__?!_" Will said, instantly regretting it, "Sorry." _  
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"It's okay," She said. After a few minutes of riding, Maddie yelled "Look! There's the Gathering ground!" Maddie pointed at a flat expanse of ground in front of them. The Gathering ground was full of rangers, partly because they were late, and partly because there were a lot of rangers. They left their horses in a little area that wasn't so crowded and ran to the ranger Commandant. Crowley, the previous ranger Commandant, had sadly passed away, but more surprisingly, Gilan, Halt's first apprentice took his place instead. Gilan, who was hunched over some paperwork at the moment, glanced up as Will and Maddie made their way in. "Will, Madelyn Welcome!" The boys patted each other's back and exchanged greetings and Gilan shook Maddie's hand. As soon as that was over, Will became serious.

"Gil, we have some news. Some Genovesians ambushed us as we were coming here and tried to kill Maddie and me," Will said with a worried face, "We just barely managed to survive, and unfortunately, our poisonous friends here didn't make it." Gilan gasped, "Are you two alright? This can't be true!"Gilan rose up from his chair, a knowing expression on his face, "Will, Maddie," he said, looking at both of their worried faces, "There's been a problem. Rangers are being kidnapped and assassinated, and we have no idea who, what, when, where, why, or how they are doing it, but they do."

"Who are 'they' Gilan?" Maddie asked anxiously. Gilan answered, "'They' are the Avengers. A mysterious bandit group that is starting to rebel against King Duncan. I don't know anything else, as the ranger spying on them got captured." Will and Maddie pondered the information for a moment, wondering what had happened to those helpless rangers who were kidnapped. Will broke the silence by saying "What can we do to help?" Maddie gasped, Gilan smiled, and Will just glared. " I knew you were going to say that!" Gilan said, "Well, I want you to spy on the Avengers, and report everything they do. Also, try to find a way to free the prisoners, if they're alive." He added. Maddie groaned, and Will smiled at her. "Come on Maddie, we have some work to do."


End file.
